HR 1962 · 113th Congress 2013–2015, ended

Free Flow of Information Act of 2013

Introduced May 14, 2013 Originated House Sponsor Ted Poe R-TX

Latest action · Jun 14, 2013 Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations.

Progress

Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.

IntroducedMay 14, 2013
Passed HouseNot reached
Passed SenateNot reached
To the PresidentNot reached
Became lawNot reached

Summary

Free Flow of Information Act of 2013 - Prohibits a federal entity (an entity or employee of the judicial or executive branch or an administrative agency of the federal government), in any matter arising under federal law, from compelling a covered person to testify or produce any document related to information obtained or created as part of engaging in journalism unless a court makes specified determinations by a preponderance of the evidence, including determinations that: (1) alternative sources have been exhausted; (2) the testimony or document sought is critical to the investigation, prosecution, or defense of a crime or the successful completion of a noncriminal matter; (3) disclosure of an information source's identity is necessary to prevent an act of terrorism, harm to national security, imminent death, significant bodily harm or to identify a person who has disclosed a trade secret, individually identifiable health information, or certain nonpublic personal information; and (4) the public interest in compelling disclosure of the information or document involved outweighs the public interest in gathering or disseminating news or information.

Defines "covered person" as a person who, for financial gain or livelihood, is engaged in journalism, including a supervisor, employer, parent, subsidiary, or affiliate of such a person. Excludes from that definition foreign powers and their agents and certain designated foreign terrorist organizations.

Defines "journalism" as the gathering, preparing, collecting, photographing, recording, writing, editing, reporting, or publishing of news or information that concerns local, national, or international events or other matters of public interest for dissemination to the public.

Requires the content of compelled testimony or documents to be limited and narrowly tailored.

Prohibits this Act from being construed as applying to civil defamation, slander, or libel claims or defenses under state law.

Applies this Act to communications service providers with regard to testimony or any record, information, or other communication that relates to a business transaction between such providers and covered persons. Sets forth notice requirements. Permits a court to delay notice to a covered person upon determining that such notice would pose a substantial threat to the integrity of a criminal investigation.

Cosponsors 55

Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from May 15, 2013 to Jul 14, 2014.

Seat	Cosponsor	Signed on
D-MI	John Conyers, Jr.	May 15, 2013
R-FL	Trey Radel	May 15, 2013
D-NJ	Bill Pascrell, Jr.	May 20, 2013
D-LA	Cedric L. Richmond	May 20, 2013
D-MA	Edward J. Markey	May 20, 2013
D-GA	Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr.	May 20, 2013
R-NC	Howard Coble	May 20, 2013
D-NY	Jerrold Nadler	May 20, 2013
D-CA	Judy Chu	May 20, 2013
D-TX	Sheila Jackson Lee	May 20, 2013
D-TN	Steve Cohen	May 20, 2013
D-FL	Theodore E. Deutch	May 20, 2013
D-CA	Zoe Lofgren	May 20, 2013
R-TX	Blake Farenthold	May 21, 2013
D-NY	Hakeem S. Jeffries	May 21, 2013
D-VA	Robert C. "Bobby" Scott	May 21, 2013
D-RI	James R. Langevin	May 22, 2013
D-WA	Suzan K. DelBene	May 22, 2013
D-CA	Anna G. Eshoo	Jun 3, 2013
D-MN	Betty McCollum	Jun 3, 2013
R-TX	Kenny Marchant	Jun 3, 2013
R-IN	Luke Messer	Jun 3, 2013
R-IN	Marlin A. Stutzman	Jun 3, 2013
D-IL	William L. Enyart	Jun 3, 2013
D-IL	Cheri Bustos	Jun 4, 2013
D-CT	James A. Himes	Jun 4, 2013
R-OH	Jim Jordan	Jun 4, 2013
D-KY	John A. Yarmuth	Jun 4, 2013
D-MN	Richard M. Nolan	Jun 4, 2013
D-FL	Debbie Wasserman Schultz	Jun 5, 2013
D-CA	Jim Costa	Jun 5, 2013
R-TX	Kay Granger	Jun 5, 2013
R-OH	Steve Chabot	Jun 5, 2013
D-NY	Carolyn B. Maloney	Jun 11, 2013
D-VT	Peter Welch	Jun 11, 2013
D-WI	Mark Pocan	Jun 13, 2013
R-IN	Todd Rokita	Jun 13, 2013
D-VI	Donna M. Christensen	Jun 25, 2013
D-CA	Karen Bass	Jun 25, 2013
R-AZ	Trent Franks	Jun 25, 2013
R-TX	Randy Neugebauer	Jul 8, 2013
D-PA	Matt Cartwright	Jul 10, 2013
R-ID	Raul R. Labrador	Jul 10, 2013
R-IL	Rodney Davis	Jul 16, 2013
R-MO	Billy Long	Jul 26, 2013
R-MT	Steve Daines	Jul 26, 2013
D-MN	Timothy J. Walz	Jul 31, 2013
D-WA	Derek Kilmer	Aug 2, 2013
R-AZ	Matt Salmon	Sep 12, 2013
D-IL	Mike Quigley	Sep 12, 2013
D-WA	Denny Heck	Nov 12, 2013
R-SC	Jeff Duncan	Jan 13, 2014
D-CT	Elizabeth H. Esty	Feb 25, 2014
D-TX	Beto O'Rourke	Feb 27, 2014
D-RI	David N. Cicilline	Jul 14, 2014

Withdrew 1 Sean P. Duffy R-WI Jul 16, 2013

Committees 1

Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.

Chamber	Committee	What it did
House	Judiciary Committee	Referred May 14, 2013
	Courts, Intellectual Property, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet Subcommittee	Referred Jun 14, 2013
	Crime and Federal Government Surveillance Subcommittee	Referred Jun 14, 2013

Actions 4

Everything that happened, newest first.

Jun 14, 2013Referred to the Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet.
Jun 14, 2013Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations.
May 14, 2013Introduced in House
May 14, 2013Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

In the Congressional Record 1

Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.

Where	In the Record	Members	Date
House	Debate and remarks H3028	Sheila Jackson Lee D-TX	Jun 4, 2013

Research

What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.

Constitutional authority

Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant to the following: 1st Amendment to the US Constitution.

The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the page H2603.

Related bills 1

Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.

Bill	Title	Relationship	Latest action
S 987	Free Flow of Information Act of 2013	Related bill	Nov 6, 2013

Titles 2

Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.

Official Title as Introduced: To maintain the free flow of information to the public by providing conditions for the federally compelled disclosure of information by certain persons connected with the news media.
Short Titles as Introduced: Free Flow of Information Act of 2013

Subjects

Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Law.

Text 1

Each version as it was printed, newest first.

May 14, 2013Introduced in House

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Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.